1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to hammer tackers.
2. Prior Art
A hammer tacker is an industrial stapler in the shape of an elongated bar, somewhat like a hammer without the head. It is operated with a hammering action which is much less tiring than the squeezing action required by lever-operated staplers. It is typically used in the construction industry, such as for tacking roofing paper to roofs. Because of the bar shape, hammer tackers tend to roll off roofs easily. When they do, the workers must climb down from the roofs to retrieve them.
Roofing paper must be trimmed to size after it is tacked. Conventional utility knives are usually used for cutting the paper. Such knives are inconvenient because the roofers must constantly switch between the hammer tackers and the knives. When repeated many times a day, day after day, the switching becomes annoying and productivity is reduced.
Accordingly, the objectives of the present cutter for hammer tacker are:
to attach a blade to a hammer tacker so as to enable a worker to tack and cut sheet materials with a single tool;
to not interfere with the operation of the tacker;
to provide a retractable blade for safety;
to be attachable to a belt; and
to prevent the hammer tacker from rolling off roofs.
Further objectives of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description.
The present cutter is comprised of a plate for attaching to the top of a conventional hammer tacker. A notch at the front end of the plate is for engaging a raised head at the front of the hammer tacker. A belt clip projecting from the rear end of the plate is angled away from the hammer tacker for clipping to a belt. A side extension is arranged on the plate to one side of the notch. A shallow groove is arranged on the bottom surface of the side extension, and a blade is positioned in the groove. A thumb screw attached to the blade is positioned through a slot in the side extension. The blade is movable along the groove for extension or retraction relative to the front end of the plate. When extended, the blade is angled to one side of the hammer tacker.